Sittin' in a Tree
by Nobody 08
Summary: Tatsuki admits that she DOES notice Rukia. I wrote this as an afterthought to 'Guessing', so I guess this counts as a sequel....


_**Disclaimer: IDON'TOWNBLEACHIDON'TOWNBLEACHI DON'T OWN BLEACH!!! DX**_

**Sittin' in a Tree....**

* * *

The young athletic girl's face seemed to be plastered into a permanent frown as she walked. Her hair was short, black, and so unruly that it stuck up in some places. No one paid any mind, after all, it looked good on her, amazingly enough.

"Tatsuki-chan!" her friend called, smiling and waving. She was a little shorter than Tatsuki, her dark orange hair flowing past her waist was always held out of her face by two identical blue flower hairpins. The girl had a breast size that was rumored to be a double D, but Tatsuki couldn't care less. Usually seeing the girl made Tatsuki's spirits lift inexplicably, but at this particular moment, Tatsuki felt as though nothing could.

"Hey, Orihime." Tatsuki responded, barely looking up. Orihime quickly joined her friend on her walk. It was lunch at Karakura High School, and neither party had anywhere in particular to go. Tatsuki just felt like she shouldn't stop moving.

"What's wrong, Tatsuki-chan?" Orihime asked. Tatsuki smiled weakly. Usually she'd have no trouble confiding in Orihime, why should this case be any different?

"Orihime... you know Kuchiki, right?" Tatsuki asked, not turning to face her friend. Orihime seemed surprised at this.

"Yeah, but... why? I didn't think you paid attention to her much." Orihime said, concerned.

"Well, I do." Tatsuki replied, lifting her head. She still wasn't looking at Orihime, but it was raised, at least.

_That's a start.... _Orihime thought hopefully.

"In fact, I feel left out sometimes, all of you guys know each other really well, and I guess I just...." Tatsuki dropped her head again.

_No...._ Orihime tilted her head and frowned, sadly.

"Tatsuki-chan, I've never seen you like this before. Let me help you. Or at least... let me try." Orihime said, her hands unconsciously holding each other to her chest.

"I just wish I knew more about her, like why she looks so sad all the time, and how you guys almost always make her happy again. I want to know why she hangs out with Ichigo so much, and why he cuts class so often! I tried to talk to her once, but she didn't tell me anything, and I just...." Tatsuki's voice faded, and Orihime picked up on an increasing vibe of depression, and anger.

"Tatsuki-chan...." Orihime muttered, not knowing what to say.

"Orihime...." Tatsuki said, finally making eye contact with her friend and abruptly stopping the walk. Her expression was a weak but still amused smile, mixed with fear and nervousness,

"I think I have a crush on Kuchiki...." she said.

"O-oh...."

"But, please, don'ttellherthatI mean.... Oh, maaaaan...." Tatsuki said, slapping her forehead, "Orihime, you know what having a crush is like, is it normal to feel ridiculously flawed around the one you have a crush on?" Orihime smiled warmly at her friend.

"Yes, it is." she said.

"Oh. Okay. Because I hate that feeling. I would get the courage to try to ask her again, and then, I would completely forget what I was trying to do when I started a conversation, or worse... I'd _chicken out._" Tatsuki told Orihime with a tone that suggested that she'd shiver if it were part of her personality to do so. Orihime giggled.

"I've done that before with Kurosaki-kun lots of times."

"But you forget things more often than I do. It's scary for me." Tatsuki stated, not afraid of offending Orihime.

"True, but I think that's normal too." Orihime said.

"Do you think...." Tatsuki started, then stopped, "No, nevermind, it's silly...."

"What, Tatsuki-chan?" Orihime asked, smiling, "Were you about to ask if I think Kuchiki-san would date you?"

"NO! NO WAY!" Tatsuki blurted, blushing intensely, "Maybe...." she corrected, then remembering that she couldn't lie to Orihime, lest she invoke her own wrath, she admitted, "Yes."

"Let's go ask her then." Orihime said, grabbing Tatsuki's arm.

"WHAT? NO, I COULDN'T.... ORIHIME, NO! PLEASE! PLEASE, I...." Tatsuki pleaded at first, then suddenly became confused,

_What? _Tatsuki asked herself, _What am I doing, I don't plead! If Orihime is going to force me into this, I can at least make the best of it._

All at once, Tatsuki's walk became filled with purpose, and a determination filled her face and eyes, and, as soon as she realized where Orihime was going, Tatsuki took the lead, dragging Orihime behind her. A broad smile spread across Orihime's face when she realized what was happening.

"Yeah, Tatsuki-chan," Orihime cheered, still holding onto her friend's arm, just for good measure, "You can do it!" Tatsuki, maintaining her confident stride, turned her upper body around to Orihime.

"I don't want you to let me go, got it?" Tatsuki ordered, her confidence apparent in her smile, "Otherwise I might try to chicken out again." Orihime nodded, and tightened her grip. Tatsuki's smile spread some as she said, "Thanks, Orihime." and turned around again. Tatsuki's pace was constant until she reached her destination.

_Rukia's tree...._ Tatsuki thought, _She used to eat her lunch alone up there, until she started making friends, but I noticed that she's been eating here recently.... _The two girls scanned the tree's branches until they saw her: a girl with black hair that was longer than Tatsuki's, but still above her shoulders. She wasn't very tall, she was noticeably shorter than Orihime, but not by much. Her hair was always in that interesting style; it framed her face gorgeously, but would make anyone else's head look like a turnip. She also had on long bang somehow kept neatly in between her eyes at all times... however she managed that. Orihime figured it had something to do with Rukia's spiritual pressure or something.

"Okay, Orihime...." Tatsuki softly said, planning.

"Yes?" Orihime asked.

"I want you to let go of my arm, but as soon as you do it, I want you to push me to the tree, as hard as you can." Tatsuki requested, "Can you do that?"

"I think so...." Orihime said, preparing herself.

"Okay...." Tatsuki sighed, gathering her courage, "Go!" Orihime immediately let go of Tatsuki's arm and put her hands on Tatsuki's back, slamming Tatsuki face first into the tree.

_**WHAM!!**_

"Ow, Orihime, I said _to _the tree, not _into_ the tree...." Tatsuki said painfully.

"Oh, sorry...." Orihime said.

"Oooooh no...." Tatsuki said, looking up, still pinned to the tree. Orihime followed Tatsuki's gaze and found Rukia looking right down at them.

At Tatsuki.

Tatsuki quickly began squirming to break out of the pin, but Orihime was one step ahead of her, and put her arms around Tatsuki and the tree.

"You can still do this, Tatsuki-chan, I have faith in you!" Orihime whispered.

"Faith isn't gonna help any!" Tatsuki whisper-shouted. Orihime frowned and remembered all the times where having faith was all she could do.

This time was different. Tatsuki might not have known it, but she needed Orihime's help at that moment, but in more than just having faith.

"Listen, Arisawa!" Orihime whisper-shouted right back, using Tatsuki's last name, which felt slightly foreign on her lips, "You are going to climb that tree, you are going to engage Kuchiki in a conversation, and you are _going_ to ask her to date you! Do we have an understanding?" she tried her best to imitate Tatsuki's sensei... she seemed to listen to him. Tatsuki quit squirming. Orihime couldn't see her face, but she was convinced that it worked.

"Orihime...." Tatsuki said.

"Umm... yeah?" Orihime answered.

"I can't climb the tree while I'm pinned to it."

"Oh! Sorry...." Orihime said, backing off of Tatsuki. Tatsuki immediately began to climb the tree, until she reached Rukia.

"What was that all about?" Rukia asked, completely at a loss, "Did you and Orihime get in a fight or something?"

"No, nothing like that...." Tatsuki said, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Hey, Arisawa-san, are you okay?" Rukia wondered, tilting her head and pointing at Tatsuki's face, "Your face is all red."

"Ah, really?" Tatsuki calmly asked, "Well, there goes that."

"There goes what?" Rukia asked, looking around.

"No, no, Kuchiki-san, it's an expression. I mean... well, in that sense... umm...." Tatsuki stopped to think about what she had said, "Actually, I think in this case, your question is valid."

At this point, Rukia was lost.

".... What?" she asked, almost dazed.

"My complete confidence is what left...." Tatsuki admitted, smiling at Rukia.

_**Meanwhile, under the tree....**_

_My work here is done. _Orihime thought, walking away from the tree, wiping her hands together with a smirk.

_But wait.... _she stopped, and turned to face the tree, _I'm Tatsuki-chan's moral support, I can't leave!_

So she stayed to make sure things didn't go sour.

_**Back in the tree....**_

"What is this all about, Arisawa? You don't usually notice me at all, let alone hunt me down for a conversation." Rukia said.

"WHAT THE HELL?! THAT'S WHAT ORIHIME SAID! I DO TOO NOTICE YOU!" Tatsuki shouted, her temper flaring, but she quickly cooled down for the sake of the conversation, "I do, Rukia Kuchiki. More than anyone cares to realize, I guess."

Now it was Rukia's turn to blush. Her blush was very light compared to Tatsuki's earlier one, and she turned away to try to hide it, but Tatsuki still noticed it.

"So, do you... I mean, have you figured it out too?" Rukia asked, facing away from Tatsuki.

"Figured what out?" Tatsuki asked the back of Rukia's head. Rukia suddenly turned to face the athletic girl, her expression serious, but to the point where it was kind of funny.

"That the affection of another woman is actually something to be desired?" she said.

"Uhh... well, I already knew that, but... sure, Rukia." Tatsuki finished her statement, and then remembered that they weren't on a first-name basis, so she blurted, "-CHAN! I mean, Kuchiki-san, I'm so sorry, I-"

"Forget it." Rukia said, still serious, but this time Tatsuki found nothing humorous about the look. She was stunned into another blush, and then in an inexplicable fury she cried out,

"WHADDAYA MEAN, 'FORGET IT'? I JUST ADDRESSED YOU LIKE WE'RE CLOSE FRIENDS, AND WE'RE NOT AT THAT POINT YET! IT COULD TOTALLY-"

"I SAID 'FORGET IT' TATSUKI, AND I MEANT IT!" Rukia roared, not making any effort to correct herself. There was one of those silences that are really short but seem like eternity, until Rukia finally spoke again,

"It could totally what, Tatsuki?" she asked in a soft, light tone, leaning in to show anticipation for the answer. Tatsuki swallowed, turned her head away to think.

_**Under the tree again....**_

"Oh, oh." Orihime mumbled to herself as she heard Tatsuki and Rukia yell at each other, "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

But then the voices lowered again just as fast as they had risen. Orihime tilted her head.

"I hope things are going well...."

_**Back to the 'lovebirds'... get it? 'Cause they're in a tree....**_

"It could totally ruin my chances at you." Tatsuki answered, her tone just as soft as Rukia's, but her natural voice didn't quite allow for the same lightness. She leaned in close to Rukia's face, keeping her eyes down. She saw Rukia's body become still, and judged that the girl was probably blushing, even though she couldn't see her face. Tatsuki could see that their noses were only separated by an inch.

"I was talking to Honshou this morning...." Rukia muttered, unmoving, her eyes on Tatsuki's lips in a nervous lock.

"Yeah?" Tatsuki prompted, letting herself take a few centimeters away from the gap between her lips and Rukia's.

"I....I assaulted her with questions, and she got confused." Rukia smirked a little at the memory, "She kept asking what it was all about, but she eventually caught on."

"What was it all about?" Tatsuki asked, feeling Rukia's breath cascade over her lips as she spoke.

_I'm dreaming, _Tatsuki thought, _I've gotta be dreaming, there's no way this is really happening...._ Just in case this was real, though, she made a quick glance to the space in between the branches they were sitting on. She realized that they were both rather agile, and more than adequate in upper body strength, so they should be fine. That, and the branches were almost right next to each other.

"I wanted to be sure that there wasn't something wrong with me," Rukia whispered, conscious of the fact that her words were almost tripping over themselves because of her nervousness, "I wanted to be sure that women could like other women, because...."

"You like me." Tatsuki finished, smiling. _Omigod, omigod,OMIGAWD I **MUST**_ _be dreaming!_

".... Yes." Rukia answered. Tatsuki was shocked into reestablishing eye contact. Rukia blushed, smirked, and said, "Let me spell it out for you."and kissed Tatsuki. The athlete's only thought was, _Oh, wow... I guess I'm **not** dreaming.... _Her next thought was, _WELL KISS BACK, YOU IDIOT!!!_

And she did.

_**Under the tree, one last time....**_

"_Now_ my job is done," Orihime observed, smiling as Tatsuki and Rukia kissed. She began walking away, singing,

"Tatsuki and Rukia, sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-"

"HEY!" shouted Tatsuki, making Orihime jump and spin around.

"WE HEARD THAT!" Rukia chimed in.

"WELL, IT'S TRUE!!" Orihime shouted back in her defense. She giggled as Tatsuki and Rukia, in almost perfect synchronization, looked down at the bottom of the tree, looked back up at each other, shrugged, and leaned back in close....

* * *

Well, I hope you liked it! There were points while writing this where I would think about it when doing something else and it made me laugh. XD


End file.
